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HElge Braun has her own suggestion to suspend the debt brake and change the Basic Law to change it. He wrote on Twitter that his proposal was not intended to “challenge the debt rule,” but “more binding than continuing with the emergency clause” to act. He added: “I love (styled by a heart emoji) the debt brake.”
The head of the CDU, Armin Laschet, criticized Braun doing it alone, according to information from WELT at the meeting of the Union parliamentary group, and recommended that such proposals be coordinated with the party in the future. Group leader Ralph Brinkhaus also emphasized at the meeting, according to WELT information, that the Union wanted to hold on to the debt brake.
Criticism from much of the Union was harsh. CSU boss Markus Söder had told WELT: “We are very skeptical about a permanent suspension of the debt brake. That would be the wrong signal. ” Germany was unable to solve the long-term economic consequences of the crown pandemic with higher debts or higher taxes. Rather, the country needs a coherent economic policy concept: “Germany stands up for financial integrity, and we must stick to that.”
Ziemiak: the CDU clearly bets on the debt brake
CDU Secretary General Paul Ziemiak made it clear on Twitter: “The CDU is clearly committed to curbing debt.” The debt brake has created the basis for Germany to be financially capable of acting in the crown pandemic and allows flexible action in emergency situations. After the crisis, you have to get back to solid budgets as soon as possible.
The clear criticism comes from the director of the CDU SME Association, Carsten Linnemann. He strictly rejected Braun’s proposal. “The debt brake is one of the most important political disciplinary instruments that curbs the state’s willingness to spend,” said Linnemann WELT. Experience has shown: “If the policy doesn’t clearly adhere to the rules, there is no way to stop it.” Such a constitutional change would be “a breaking of the dam” for Linnemann and should be a “red line for the Union”.
According to the vice president of the Union’s parliamentary group, the Basic Law is clear: “For emergency situations such as an economic recession related to a pandemic, credit limits are temporarily suspended; otherwise, they have to be applied.” Every citizen knows that in this crisis, you have to tighten your belt. “Of course, this also has to apply to the state, which already spent too much money before Corona. Therefore, a review of core tasks and expenses is pending. “
Haseloff: “That would also send the wrong signal within the EU.”
There was also criticism in the countries led by the Union. Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) spoke out against suspending the debt brake by amending the Basic Law: “I believe that removing the debt brake from the Basic Law for a certain period of time is That would also send the wrong signal within the EU framework, “Haseloff told WELT.” We must not say goodbye to the obligation to discipline spending. The debt brake and frugal cleanup in recent years have only given us the opportunity to react appropriately to the pandemic, ”Haseloff continued.
Braun had proposed to suspend the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law for the next few years and called for a corresponding change in the Basic Law. “The debt brake cannot be met in the next few years, even with strict spending discipline,” wrote the CDU politician in a guest article in the “Handelsblatt.”
That is why it makes sense to combine a strategy for the recovery of the economy in Germany with an amendment to the Basic Law, which provides a reliable decreasing corridor for the next few years for new loans and a clear date for the return to debt compliance. rule.”
Until Braun’s proposal, the Union had rejected the demands of the SPD and the Greens, for example, to lift the debt brake. Politicians in the CDU and CSU had called for a return to the debt brake or even a balanced budget as early as 2022. Due to the massive increase in new debt in the Crown crisis, the Bundestag again suspended the debt brake. debt by 2021.
Braun argues that exactly this annual decision is dangerous for budget discipline. “This deviation from the debt rule should in no case be legitimized in the coming years by individual annual decisions under article 115 of the Basic Law. This opens the door to permanent relaxation of the debt rule, ”writes the CDU politician.
It is not yet clear how long the pandemic could be “a reasoning circumstance” for the suspension. This means that there is no mechanism “that reliably paves the way for a return to debt rule and, in the medium term, to the new ‘black zero’ debt of the federal government.”
Braun emphasized that he saw the debt brake itself as very important. “In this particular crisis, it has proven its worth because it laid the foundation for Germany to be financially viable in the pandemic,” he writes. “It is also important because of our role as a role model in Europe, for our common currency to maintain its stability by reverting to the Maastricht criteria.”
The background for this is concerns that other euro countries are borrowing too much and thereby jeopardizing the stability of the common currency.
Greens Demand Courage for “Real Reform”
For the Greens, Braun’s proposal to suspend the debt brake for the next several years does not go far enough. “The ideological front of the Union is crumbling. That’s good, ”Green Group budget spokesman Sven-Christian Kindler told Reuters news agency. “It is correct not to jeopardize the economic recovery from 2022 by returning to the restrictive debt brake.” However, one should not just play around with the symptoms for years to come. “You should have the courage to really reform the debt brake,” Kindler said. This should allow net investments to be financed through loans.
The Greens have long called for debt brake reform, with which new federal government debt is capped at 0.35 percent of gross domestic product. Combine that with the proposal for a new investment rule that would allow debt-financed investments.
“In light of historically low interest rates and investment backlog, the climate crisis and digitization, the state will have to invest significantly more in the coming years and decades,” Kindler said. He attacked the finance minister and SPD chancellor candidate, Olaf Scholz. “The debate is here now, but where is Finance Minister Olaf Scholz?” Kindler said. “The Federal Minister of Finance must not hide in this debate.”
Kipping: “It is not yet the necessary farewell to the reversing brake”
The leader of the Left Party, Katja Kipping, criticized Braun’s advance as insufficient. “Above all, the debt brake is one thing: a brake on investment and therefore economically counterproductive. It must be discarded, ”said Kipping WELT. “What the head of the Chancellery proposes is a little better than the previous fetishism of the Union’s debt brake, but it is far from being the necessary farewell to the investment brake.
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